Golf course with target greens and separate putting greens

ABSTRACT

A golf course with regulation size fairways has target greens at the end of each fairway marked into concentric zones of proximity to the cup. Each fairway has its tee section adjacent the target green of the preceding airway. The course includes a separate group of putting greens corresponding to the number of fairways. The putting greens also have zone markers at distances from the hole correlated to distance provided for markers of the target greens. The target greens have concentric circular zone markers and the putting greens may include a circular inner zone marker and arcuate outer zone markers. The zones on the putting green are about two-thirds the size of the zones on the target greens. The target greens have the same shape, size and relation to obstacles as conventional greens, while the putting greens can either be of conventional design or merely rectangular sections of an elongate strip of ground.

United States Patent Brobston [54] GOLF COURSE WITH TARGET GREENS AND SEPARATE PUTTING GREENS [72] Inventor: Scott Brobston, 120l-B Keller Road,

Wind Gap, Pa. 19064 [22] Filed: Sept. 7, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 178,167

[52] US. Cl. ..273/176 A [51] Int. Cl. .;.....A63b 67/02 [58] Field of Search ..273/176 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,851,423 3/1932 Ely ..273/176 A 2,550,480 4/1951 Hubbard ..273/176 AB X 2,894,749 7/1959 Rook ..273/176 E 3,083,021 3/1963 Reilly ..273/176 AB 3,599,980 8/1971 Harmond ..273/176 A [451 Oct.3, 1972 Primary Examiner-George J. Marlo Attorney-Nelson E. Kimmelman [57] ABSTRACT A golf course with regulation size fairways has target greens at the end of each fairway marked into concentric zones of proximity to the cup. Each fairway has its tee section adjacent the target green of the preceding airway. The course includes a separate group of putting greens corresponding to the number of fairways. The putting greens also have zone markers at distances from the hole correlated to distance provided for markers of the target greens. The target greens have concentric circular zone markers and the putting greens may include a circular inner zone marker and arcuate outer zone markers. The zones on the putting green are about two-thirds the size of the zones on the target greens. The target greens have the same shape, size and relation to obstacles as conven tional greens, while the putting greens can either be of conventional design or merely rectangular sections of an elongate strip of ground.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PmNIEnnm m Vnvron IN SCOTT BROBSTON FIG. 3

v TTORNE rs GOLF COURSE WITH TARGET GREENS AND SEPARATE PUTTING GREENS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A. Field of the Invention This invention relates to golf and, in particular, to a novel layout of a golf course for increasing its player capacity and reducing its construction and maintenance costs.

B. Prior Art Conventional golf courses provide healthy walks as well as competitive game conditions, but only for a limited number of players. In order to accommodate additional players on limited grounds, radically modified golf courses have been proposed which, for example, provide only miniature putting areas, or closely packed and usually parallel or radial driving areas, or other condensations of the regular game. These proposals involve major sacrifices of objectives normally connected with the game of golf. Most of them totally eliminate or drastically reduce the opportunity to walk outdoors, or they alter the competitive conditions of the game and provide merely training grounds or the like, or they require unusual and expensive addenda, such as observation towers and signalling provisions for call boys.

BRIEF STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a full-size series of outdoor fairways, each complete with tee and target green. Nevertheless it accommodates a greatly increased number of players, with less than normal interference between players or matches, and without change of basic rules of play and competition, except for a rearrangement of the sequence of fairway play and putting. This is achieved by the simple expedient of converting the conventional greens into measurable target greens and duplicating them as a separate series of putting greens consolidated in another area. Thus the invention adds a minor amount of area to the normal playing field, but it thereby provides a major increase in the player capacity of the course as will be explained hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawing appended hereto, FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a golf course incorporating this invention. FIGS. 2 and 3 are enlarged details from FIG. 1, showing respectively the diagram of a target green T-l and of putting greens, section G.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION As indicated in FIG. 1, the novel golf course in one illustrative embodiment is surrounded by highway H, stream S, and other boundaries B. It has access way A leading to club buildings C, including restaurant R and parking areas P. The course is substantially occupied by fairways, arranged according to any desired plan and shown here as F-l to F-9. Each fairway has the usual grass and rough portions. It also has the usual driving or teeing-off section D-I, D-2, etc. at one end, while the opposite end has a target green T-l, T-2, etc., each adjacent to the next following drive or teeing-off section.

The target greens are similar, in form and size, to the regulation greens normally provided on a golf course, but are not mowed for putting. In fact, putting is not allowed at all on the target greens. Each of them is provided with a flag FL to mark its approximate center and a conventional cup for the occasional shot from the fairway that drops in. (FIG. 2) Obstacles O are provided around target greens, for example, in the form of sand traps. As shown in FIG. 1, fairways F-l to F-9 may be of different lengths, and, as indicated at W, some of them may be provided with water hazards. These details, as well as the possible use of rolling ground, trees, etc. depend on the local conditions, and are not essential to the invention.

When all members of a match, playing on the new golf course have teed off and hit :into the target on the first green T-l, and remained therein, the position of each ball with respect to the zones Z-l, Z-2 and Z-3 is noted and then the balls are removed from the green. Desirably the players have score cards (not shown herein), on which each member of the match marks the number of strokes needed to land in and remain in the target, and in which zone of the target his ball came to rest. For this purpose, as indicated in FIG. 2, each target green has circular outlines M-l, M-2, M-3 defining zones Z-l to Z-3. While the dimensions of each target green and its hazards may be different to fit the availa ble space and contours, the target outlined on each one is always the same, with the outermost circle M-3 having a radius of 49 feet. M-2 and M-1 always have respective radii of 21 and 7 feet, around a central cup X holding a conventional flag F 1. 'On the score card the inner zone may be called A, the middle one B, and the outer one C. Where a sand trap O or water hazard intrudes into a target green, it is not considered to be a part of the target green.

The driving and scoring are repeated on consecutive fairways F-2 to F-9, or, on larger courses (not shown), through an 18th fairway. Thereafter, each match completes its round by putting out each hole on greens G-l to 6-9 in an area of putting greens adjacent to club houses C, FIG. 1. Each putting green as shown in FIG. 3 may be a rectangular section of an elongate strip G. The strip is, desirably, some feet wide, whereby each putting green is 60 feet long, and each green may be about 40 feet wide and has a regulation cup Y near one end. A circular arc or marker M-ll of 3% feet radius is limed or otherwise marked around cup Y, surrounded by a second arc M-l2 of 14 feet radius, and a third arc M-13 of 35 feet radius. It will be noted that on the putting green the three zones :are in the same order as on the target green but have different dimensions. These measurements are chosen so that each players first putt on each hole will be the average distance from the cup of all shots ending up in any one zone out on The further progress, after such putting out of the first hole, can be varied. For example, the players of each match may play the remaining holes on the same putting green, desirably shifting to different sectors thereof, or they may progress to consecutive putting greens G-2, G-3, etc. The latter has the drawback that the players must then, in some cases, wait for consecutive greens to be vacated by the match ahead.

One of several other methods of putting out can be agreed upon by the players before the match is begun, regardless of whether the course management has decreed one green to a match or successive greens. Thus the players can agree to score one putt for a ball ending up in zone A in the target area, two putts for zone B, three putts for zone C, and actually do no putting at all. Or they can agree to putt out only those holes which they individually choose, each player on each hole receiving the above automatic zone score if he chooses not to putt. This individual choice must always be made before anyone putts on each hole. Or the players can agree, again before the match begins, that all balls landing and remaining in zones A and B shall be scored automatically and that all balls in zone C shall be putted out, etc.

The novelty of the target golf course and the game played thereon, both described above, is that every player can duplicate every aspect of conventional golf with at least the same ease, comfort and convenience, but at a considerably lower cost since the target course will, first, accommodate up to 75 percent more players on any one day; second, will cost considerably less to construct and maintain; third, will produce up to 50 percent more income for the same investment in carts; and, fourth, will have a much greater volume of business for its shops, restaurants and bars. The following examples and comparisons support each of the four points just made:

l. On a conventional course, a match of four golfers will complete 18 holes in an average of 4 /2 hours,or an average of minutes per hole. Under maximum play there will be an average of two matches on each hole. Thus on a summer day with 9 hours from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 pm. for starting times, a match of four can enter the course every 7% minutes, or 8 matches per hour, or 288 players per day.

On a target course, where all putting is eliminated out on the course, a four-man match will take only 3 hours to play 18 holes on the fairways. Under maximum play this will allow a match to enter the course every 5 minutes. Thus on a day like the above there would be 12 matches per hour, 108 matches per day, or 432 players per day on a target course. Since the putting greens, where all the matches are completed after leaving the fairways, are consolidated near the club houses, they can economically be lighted for continued use into the evening. Thus starting times up to 5:30 pm. out on the course will add 18 matches to the capacity, or 72 more golfers, for a days total of 504 players. This is 216 more players, an increase of 75 percent over the number handled by the conventional course.

2. The putting greens for a target course need only be 30 percent as large as the average required for a conventional course. Maintenance cost of the putting greens is reduced even more than the construction cost since maintenance personnel need not travel to eighteen far removed areas of the course and can work without disturbance for the first 4% hours of each day before the putting greens are filled with golfers.

3. If every twosome hired a cart on a maximum day described above, the conventional course would need 72 carts and would realize 144 rentals. The target course on the other hand would keep every twosome supplied with the same number of carts and would realize 216 rentals, or an increase of 50 percent.

4. 75 percent more players in a day will tend to 'increase the use of the courses shops, restaurants and bars by a like percentage. This percentage is subject to an even larger increase since the target golfer will spend 1% hours more in the club house area than the conventional golfer will.

With the putting area lighted, an additional course income can be realized through continued use of the putting surfaces in the evenings after all full-round matches have been completed. Screening, full enclosure, heating and air-conditioning, of the putting area can all increase the courses income-producing capabilities in all periods of inclement weather, in all seasons of the year.

I claim:

1. A golf course comprising: an outdoor series of consecutive hole areas and a separate corresponding series of putting greens; each hole area including a tee section, a fairway extending therefrom and a target green having a plurality of proximity zones marked thereon, the teeing sections of successive hole areas, except the last, being disposed adjacent the target sections of the preceding hole area, each putting green area having a cup and being marked into proximity zones corresponding to the zones on said target greens.

2. A golf course according to claim 1 wherein the proximity zones in said putting greens are substantially smaller thanthe proximity zones on said target greens.

3. A golf course according to claim 2 wherein the full radii of the proximity zones of said putting greens are about two-thirds the radii of the corresponding proximity zones of the said target greens.

4. A golf course as described in claim 1 wherein the target greens have configurations and dimensions substantially like regulation putting greens, and the putting greens are substantially rectangular.

5. A golf course as described in claim 4 wherein the target greens have circular distance markers and the putting greens have circular distance markers.

6. A golf course according to claim 4 wherein the target greens have circular distance markers and the putting greens include arcuate distance markers. 

1. A golf course comprising: an outdoor series of consecutive hole areas and a separate corresponding series of putting greens; each hole area including a tee section, a fairway extending therefrom and a target green having a plurality of proximity zones marked thereon, the teeing sections of successive hole areas, except the last, being disposed adjacent the target sections of the preceding hole area, each putting green area having a cup and being marked into proximity zones corresponding to the zones on said target greens.
 2. A golf course according to claim 1 wherein the proximity zones in said putting greens are substantially smaller than the proximity zones on said target greens.
 3. A golf course according to claim 2 wherein the full radii of the proximity zones of said putting greens are about two-thirds the radii of the corresponding proximity zones of the said target greens.
 4. A golf course as described in claim 1 wherein the target greens have configurations and dimensions substantially like regulation putting greens, and the putting greens are substantially rectangular.
 5. A golf course as described in claim 4 wherein the target greens have circular distance markers and the putting greens have circular distance markers.
 6. A golf course according to claim 4 wherein the target greens have circular distance markers and the putting greens include arcuate distance markers. 